The Missing Steps.

We all have weak areas in our parenting. Or is that just me? One of mine and Chris’ weaknesses is regarding the passing on of the skill of walking. We’re not exactly risk-takers. We avoid pain, discomfort, and inconvenience more vigorously than Lady Gaga avoids modesty and inconspicuousness. And our children can sense this. And […]

The Ailing Angst.

When sickness plagues the doorstep of a child, the internal gnashing of Mommy teeth begins, and the most treacherous, dreaded question of all Mommyhood must be addressed. To take the child to the doctor or not. The arguments begin like this… 1. If I take my kid to the doctor, am I going to be […]

The Death of a Princess.

Here lies Ariel, Queen of the Sea. She was a good friend. A great one, really. Given to Ali for her birthday two years ago by her chosen future husband, Ariel has been a constant reminder of the love and tenderness that exists between Ali and Ethan. After all, every girl wants a sensitive guy […]

‘Twas The Night Before Her Birthday…

Some of you are about to gasp in horror at my detached and neglectful parenting.  Others will congratulate me in complete awe of my remarkably inspiring accomplishment. Are you ready?  Here it is. I made it 4 years and 364 days without ever sleeping in one of my children’s beds or ever having one of […]

Celebrating Five With Tradition.

All holidays and birthdays in my family are opportunities to re-tell the same embarrassing stories over and over again. And they always seem to be about me. (Did my brothers never do anything story-worthy?!?) And despite the ridiculous repetition of these stories, someone always inexplicably acts like they haven’t heard it before so that it […]

Fashionably Hypocritical.

Oh, hi there. (Ahem.) So remember that post that I wrote last week about Zulily? Yeah. So, that very same afternoon, I received a package in the mail – one of my Zulily orders. As I mentioned before, the one-click ordering makes it a wee bit too easy to order without thinking too hard, and […]

(Insert Applause Here)

I did it. After almost eleven years of marriage, I finally succeeded in the epitome of wifely success. For our entire lifetime together, my husband has begged me to help make this happen, and for years I have 100% failed at supporting his hopes and dreams. But not this year.  This year was the appointed […]

The Christmas Countdown.

According to Chris, the best part of vacation is the anticipation. I don’t exactly agree with him, because being the logical person that I am, if anticipating something is better than the something you’re anticipating, then you’re obviously over-anticipating and therefore setting yourself up for failure. Not that I would ever overphilosophize the minutia of […]

The Black Friday Buzz.

Blissfully drunken with holiday cheer and the much needed four day weekend, Chris and I became horrible parents, of the over-permissive variety. “Sure honey, you can turn the hardwood stairs into a slip ‘n slide!” “Why not? Of course you can drive today!” “Oh, you want to drive like your little brother? Okay, Ali! You […]

The Elevator Incident.

So my friend Christen and I went to the mall on Wednesday. …along with our two strollers and five kids. …ages 4, 3, 2, 10 months, and 8 months. (Each child, by the way, adds degree of difficulty points in the classical mall game Avoid the Kiosk Predators.) We began by eating Chick-Fil-A – our […]